NCCC Success Story

Hometown
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Degree programs
Electrical Engineering, B.S.

Year of graduation
2016

Place of employment
Texas Instruments, Dallas, Texas

Job Title
Product Engineer – summer co-op

Work Responsibilities
I was assigned two main projects, the first of which was to complete a schematic board layout of the burn-in boards. Burn-in boards were used to stress integrated chips (ICs) to prove whether or not they could survive a certain number of years. I completed this project using Cadence software. Once I finished the schematic layout, it was then sent to the manufacturer to be built.

The second project required that I analyze the data that was collected from the ICs that had failed cold temperature testing. The ICs were also tested in room temperature and hot temperature; however, I was more focused on why they had failed at cold temperatures. This process involved talking with other engineers and contractors to determine what could have caused the ICs to fail. For this, I used a type of data analysis software called Spotfire, which helped tremendously.

How my career relates to my degree from RIT/NTID
I believe that pursuing an electrical engineering degree is preparing me for a successful future. I say this because the journey towards receiving my degree is very challenging, and it’s that particular challenge that is pushing me to be more motivated, persistent, and accomplished. An important skill that I developed on my co-op was learning how to learn. If I did not know something, I had to find the answer. Whether it was through asking other engineers, looking for information on the internet, or even referring back to what I had learned in my previous years at RIT, I was driven to the find the answer. I also gained knowledge about different software products that will be beneficial both in class and in future job opportunities. Both of these skills have truly helped me to be a better engineer.

Advice
My advice would be to never give up. Once you’ve found something that you are passionate about it, pursue it with everything that you have. I guarantee it will be worth it in the end.